The U.K. government has injected a massive sum into a project to turn a former coal power plant site into something that could provide massive amounts of clean energy.
According to Interesting Engineering, the British government has invested $3.4 billion into a project that would turn the site of the old West Burton A coal power plant into a fusion reactor.
The project, called Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production, or STEP, aims to "bottle a star" through the power of fusion energy, the same kind of energy that powers our sun.
It's projected to create 10,000 jobs in the Nottinghamshire region as part of the government's plan to become a "clean energy superpower."
Fusion is the hot new clean energy technology, as it promises massive amounts of clean energy if done successfully at the commercial level.
Currently, the most viable setup for fusion comes in the form of a tokamak reactor, in which hydrogen gas is superheated and then suspended between a pair of magnetic fields. The energy from this process will create steam, which will move turbines to generate electricity.
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The U.K. isn't the only nation investing in fusion technology; the United States recently invested $2.3 million in developing new, stronger walls for a potential reactor.
Meanwhile, private companies in the U.S. are also working hard on their fusion reactors and making great progress on the technology.
Other fusion techniques such as focused laser reactors are also in development.
In this case, the British government hopes its investment will pay massive dividends in a region of the country long associated with power plants and generating energy.
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"The record-breaking £2.5 billion [$3.4 billion] of additional funding announced this week shows the government's firm commitment to fusion as a core part of our future energy mix, and to this significant investment in the economy in Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands," the government said in its press release.
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